Manufacturing a Messiah

Zack followed Heather into the lakeside bedroom, curious for what reason she called him back here. His mind was still swimming with thoughts of his mother, and what had happened between them at the clinic and again at home, and what he should say to her the next time they met. Given the choice, he would have stayed with her. Even though she had been the instigator, the destroyer of their family unit, Zack still felt the need to comfort and support her. Maybe it was just because she was his mother and even when she hurt him, he didn’t want to see her cry.

But, he also couldn’t deny that after everything that had happened this morning, perhaps some time apart was exactly what they both needed. And Heather offered the perfect distraction, though she had been quite insistent that what she had to say was just as important. The only possibility that came to Zack’s mind was that she had devised a new plan against Hannah, or that Hannah herself had taken action. The latter seemed unlikely though. Zack was sure he’d have heard if the video had been released.

“Take a seat,” Heather suggested, releasing his hand and smiling softly as she remembered how her dad refused to sit on the bed at first. “This might be overwhelming at first.”

Zack had no such reservations though. Unlike Heather’s father he could be in the same room as the dark-haired, seductive cheer captain without worrying about being jumped. The bed held no danger to him, nor even her discarded panties, that he lifted and tossed to the opposite side of the bed. He sat, careful not to knock off the nearby laptop, turned to face him, but with the lid slightly closed, obstructing his view of whatever was on the screen. When he was ready and settled, he placed his hands on his lap and looked to Heather, noticing her biting her lip and fidgeting with he hands. It was an amusing sight to see the usually confident Heather Ravers nervous.

“I hope you didn’t call me here just for fashion advice,” Zack said, trying to ease her trepidation.

“No, of course not,” Heather assured him, pouting gently. “As I said on the phone, this is important, and I thought it worthwhile doing face to face. So, you won’t know, but I was able to get a message to my dad, and get him to come here, hopefully without rousing Hannah’s suspicions. So far there’s been no reaction or retaliation, so I think it was a success.”

“You hope? Well, what’s done is done, but it better have been worth it in case this all goes to shit again,” Zack mused, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “What happened with your dad…or do I want to know?”

“It was all business…well…almost.” Heather bit her lip and smiled. With a shake of her head, she cleared out the thoughts of later and continued, “I came up with a plan, one that I had to run past my dad and get his support for first, mostly because I need him to convince the board of Ravers Enterprises to allow you to replace him as CEO.”

Zack choked and nearly fell off the bed. “Me? Why would you want me to take over your father’s company? That’s always been your dream.”

“It won’t be permanent, and my father will still be controlling things, just more in a background capacity,” Heather hastily elaborated, not worried about Zack thinking he’d won the lottery, rather more concerned about him feeling that it was too large a responsibility. “Listen, if this video does get out and my dad is the head of Ravers Enterprises, the company won’t go bankrupt overnight. But the loss of my father, the scrutiny around me, suspicion of whether they can even trust my uncle given his name sake, it’ll result in turmoil and chaos. If we put you in charge, and say my dad needs a break from the business after recent set backs with the Silver Lakes Project, and something does happen, it’ll maintain stability for the company. The fact that your mum had an affair with my dad, and had a son that he didn’t even seem aware of, which that video proves, means you’ll be largely sheltered from the fallout. And come what may, we’ll be confident in the knowledge that we can trust you not to simply sell it or run it irresponsibly.”

“Wow, Heather…this is…its actually a huge compliment,” Zack admitted, rubbing his head and panting as if he’d been running. “That you would trust me with something this important to you. That you’d think so highly of me to put me in this position. But if this all works out and the video isn’t released, then what? And how do you even intend to swing this by the board? It’s not like you can just tell them it’s to save face if your dad gets outed for fucking his daughter.”

“We haven’t fucked,” Heather insisted, swallowing. “…yet. But, you’re right, of course, we can’t tell the board that. Which is why we’re going to tell them that you can get the Silver Lakes Project back on track because of your close ties with the Rivera family. If everything goes right, you’ll be made chief executive officer, and Lisa and Carlos will be released, which will look like you were destined to lead the company.”

“Paying no mind, of course, to the man, or woman in this case, behind the curtain,” Zack joked, indicating towards Heather with his hands. Then, frowning, he mused, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable manipulating Carlos or Lisa into selling their cabin, especially after everything they’ll have been through.”

“You won’t have to. That’s just a cover to get the board of directors to agree to our terms. Once you’re in charge, we can say we’re working on convincing Carlos to sell, and in the meanwhile, we will set this up.” She lifted the screen of her laptop up so that Zack could finally read the proposal, though she proceeded to summarise it anyway. “We’re going to invest in renovating and re-marketing the amusement park in town to take advantage of the local tourism industry. The board is all about money. So long as we fund profitable enterprises, they won’t care if one project languishes in development hell until we can scrap it entirely quietly.”

“Wow, you really have thought of everything,” Zack remarked, and taking a deep breath. “I’m impressed.”

Heather smiled, remembering how her father’s pride in his daughter’s abilities manifest in him kissing her, possibly for the first time ever, him initiating. Unconsciously licking her lips, she looked to Zack and asked, “Well, are you up for it? We really need your help.”

“It doesn’t really seem like I have a choice. If I say no, I’m pretty much condemning you and your father to lose everything, and I don’t want that,” Zack answered, his eyes bouncing from one side of his head to the other as he considered everything Heather had said. “I’m not sure how I feel about being the face of your dad’s company though, or competing with the board. I mean, this is something you’re used to, something you grew up around but it’s completely foreign to me. One wrong move, or word, and I could inadvertently ruin you and your father. That’s…that’s a lot of pressure…”

“That won’t happen,” Heather said confidently. “There’s a reason why I picked you Zack, and it’s not because you might be my dad’s son. You are one of the most thoughtful, considerate men I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. You’re not prone to being rash or reckless, and throughout everything that’s happened, even when it’s been tough for you, you’ve done what you needed to do, what was best even when it hurt, like confronting your mother, or trusting Ashley, and telling your dad about the affair today.” Heather shrugged and smiled, looking Zack in the eye. “If you can’t do it, then that’s fine. I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do. But there isn’t a doubt in my mind, that if you choose to do this, you’ll be the third best person in the world that could do this, besides me and daddy, or course.”

“That was almost motivational,” Zack chuckled, though his spirit was genuinely soaring after Heather’s speech. “But I agree, this is the right thing to do. I’m just nervous, I think, because I don’t want to let you down. Nonetheless, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Fantastic,” Heather cried, literally leaping for joy. “Now, we have to wait. If Ashley’s contact gets here before tonight, I thought my dad could announce his retirement and your stepping in tonight at a charity gala that he was scheduled to speak at, but…so far, everyone has come to the cabin except her.”

“Her?” Zack raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it’s Hannah,” Heather said, a little surprised by Zack’s question. “Naturally, I assumed Ashley called Taylor.”

Zack shook his head, surprising Heather further. “I checked with my mum. Taylor is still in Italy, studying to become a doctor. Honestly, I don’t think those two have spoken since they went their separate ways to college.”

“Oh shit…” Heather exclaimed, rethinking everything. “Then who the hell did Ashley call?”

“I think she was going to tell me last night, just before I broke up with her,” Zack noted, standing again. “Maybe if we ask now, she’ll tell us. I mean, so long as you have no more companies you want to hand over to me.”

Zack laughed at his own joke, but Heather was fidgeting with her hands again. “Well, actually there was one more favour I wanted to ask…” Heather paused, waiting for Zack to settle down, his bright, smiling face listening attentively. “I…I want you to impregnate me.”